Hotbed for metal-rolling.



No. 686,267. Patented Nov. I2, |90I. A. J. DEM M L ER.

HOT BED FOR METAL ROLLING.

` [Applicatilm filed Aug 4, 1900.) (No Model.)v

, Ww E @if/Vessem Wm w ` tion thereof.

. or two sheets at a time while the sheets were UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

ALBERT J. DEMMLER, OF WELLSVILLE, OIIIO.

HOTBED FOR METAL-'ROLLING.

srncrrrcnfrron formingpm-t of Letters Patent No. 686,267, dated November12, 1901.

`Application led August 4, 1900. s

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. DEMMLER, a resident of Wells ville, in thecounty of Oolu mbiana and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Hotbeds for Metal-Rolling; and I dohereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact descrip- My invention relatesto an improvement in apparatus for rolling sheet metal, its object beingto provide means for maintaining a pile of heated sheet or plate metalat approximately the proper heat for rolling and prevent such rapidcooling of the same as would render the sheets in the lower part of thepile too cool for the proper rolling and finishing.

The practice heretofore in the making of what is known as blued orpolished sheet iron or steel has been to heat a pile of sheets or platesto practically the same as an annealing heat and at a certaintemperature expose the sheets to the atmosphere, each sheet beingexposed by turning it over and forming a pile of sheets by placing oneturned-over sheet upon the other and then taking the pile to the rollsand passing between the same one over 300 Fahrenheit' in heat, thisbeing termed warm-rolling and being covered by Letters Patent No.608,432, granted to W. M. TheobaldAugust2,l898. Onediflicultywith thispractice has been that the sheets in the lower part of the pile wereliable to cool during the rolling of the sheets above them so as to bebrought below the proper temperature for fixing the oxid on the surfaceor polishing the same.

The object of the present invention is to provide means for holding amass or pile of sheets or plates at the proper temperature, so that thesheets in the lower part of the pile will not lose their heat so rapidlyas to be lowered below the proper rolling temperature, the inventionbeing intended for use in warmrolling, either for bluing or polishing orin the rolling of the sheet or plate metal at higher temperatures, suchas at a practically red heat to reduce the same to thinner gage, as setforth in companion application filed upon the same date, Serial No.25,858.

To these several ends my invention consists, generally stated, in4 thecombination, with a Serial No. 25,857. (No model.)

set of sheet-rolls, of a hotbed adapted to sup'- port a pile of heatedsheets or plates located in position to feed the same' to the rolls, sothat when the pile of sheets is placed thereon the hotbed will aid inmaintaining the heat of the sheets in the pile as they are fed to therolls.

It also consists in certain other improvements which will be hereinaftermore particularly set forth and claimed.

Tp enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l is a longitudinal section of a set of rolls, showing thehotbed located in front of the same. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section ofa modified form of hotbed. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the hotbedillustrated in Fig. l, and Fig. -t is a similar view of the hotbedillustrated in Fig. 2.

The different figures of the drawings illustrate some different forms ofhotbeds suitable for employment in conjunction with the sheet-rolls,Fig. 1 showing an ordinary heated slab supporting the pile of sheets,and Fig. 2 a portable furnace having a heated slab or cover, the heat ofwhich-is maintained by the burning of fuel within the furnace.

The invention is employed with any suitable form of sheet-rolls 2,mounted in suitable housings 3, the hotbed being located in any suitableposition convenient for feeding the sheets to the rollsfor example, asillustrated in Fig. l, directly in front of the rolls.

The hotbed 4 (shown in Fig. l) is formed of a suitable frame 5,supporting a heated metal slab 6, on which the pile of sheets 7 rests.This hot metal slab is preferably heated in the furnace with the sheetsto be treated, as described in a companion application of even dateherewith, Serial No. 25,856, the idea being to carry the sheets on theslabs on which they rest while being heated either in the furnace orwithin the annealing-box to the rolls, so that the sheets are notdisturbed from the time that they are built up upon the slab andinserted in the furnace until they are fed directly to the rolls, theslabs thus forming the support for the sheets in the furnace and themeans for carrying the same to the rolls and acting at the rolls as ahotbed `for this purpose.

for maintaining the heat within the pile of sheets as the top sheets arefed one by one to the rolls. Such slabs are preferably made ofcast-steel plates of sufficient thickness to fully support the sheets inhandling and to store the necessary heat to maintain the mass of sheetsin the pile at the proper heat for rolling.

The hotbed shown in Figs. 2 and 4 is a suitable portable furnace 8,carried on rollers 9 and preferably built of brickwork 10 within asuitable casing 11 andhaving extending over the top the slab 12, onwhich the pile of sheets rests. For the heating of the same I prefer toemploy gas, and have illustrated a series of gas-jets 13 playing uponthe slab and maintaining it at the proper heat. Where it is notpracticable to use gas, a thin coke re will serve the purpose, agrate 14being shown able, so that it may be adjusted in position for the properfeeding of the sheets to the set of ro1ls,such position depending uponwhether the sheets are to be simply warm-rolled, as

above referred to, or whether they are to be hotrolled and passed morethan once between the. rolls, in the latter case the hotbed beingremovably drawn back from the set of rolls or placed at one sidethereof, as set forth in a companion application of even date herewith,Serial No. 25,858. In this construction the same supporting-slab onwhich the sheets rest when in the furnace may ofcourse be employed asthe top slab of the hotbed, the pile of sheets to be rolled beingcarried on such slab and placed upon the furnace or oven 8, by whichthrough the heat applied to the under face of the slab such slab is heldat any desired temperature and the pile of sheets maintained at a higherheat than if only the heat of the slab itself were depended on.

Each of the above-described forms of hotbeds may be used either in themanufacture of blued or polished sheet iron or steel, where the metal ispreferably fed to the rolls at a black heat ranging from 300 upward, ormay be used in the rolling of thin plate metal or;

of packs of sheets to reduce the same in thickness where the sheets are'carried to the rolls while at a red heat, and the hotbed is utilized tomaintain them practically at that tem- The hotbed is made port-Y perature until the entire pile of packs is rolled. In the latter case in orderto further protect the pile of sheets or packs of sheets a suitablecover may be placed over the pile of packs, which can be raised bysuitable power apparatus when each pack is to be withd rawn from thepile, such cover being illustrated in Fig. 4 at 18, in which case theslab 12 and the cover 16 may together form the annealing-box orsectional part of such box in which the pile of packs has been heated.

In the regular use of the invention either with Warm or hot sheets theloss of heat from the pile, such as would prevent the proper rolling ofthe sheets or packs, is prevented through the heat passing from thehotbed on which the pile of sheets rests into such pile, as abovedescribed, so that in such rolling operation the sheets in any pile canbe rolled at nearly the same temperature and a much larger proportion ofperfectly-rolled 4sheets be obtained.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In combination with a set of sheet-rolls, a hotbed having a slabadapted to support a pile of heated sheets and located in position tofeed the same to the rolls and means for heating the slab.

2. In combination with a set of sheet-rolls, a hotbed having a slabadapted to support a pile of heated sheets and located in position tofeed the same to the rolls, and a fire-cham ber under the slab.

3. In combination with a set of rolls, a hot bed having a removable slabadapted to support a pile of heated sheets and located in position tofeed the same to the rolls.

4. In combination with a set of rolls, a hotbed having a slab adaptedto` support a pile of heated sheets and located in position to feedthesame to the rolls, and a cover adaptedto fit over and inclose thepile when supported on the hotbed.

In testimony whereof I, the said ALBERT J. DEMMLER, have hereunto set myhand.

ALBERT J. DEMMLER. Witnesses: Y

JAMES I. KAY, J. D. BUCKLEY.

